President Donald Trump was evacuated from a gala dinner with news media on Saturday as a shooting at the venue sent Cabinet members ducking under tables and turned the Washington Hilton into a massive crime scene.
"It's always shocking when something like this happens. It happened to me a little bit, and that never changes," Trump said at a press conference at the White House later Saturday. He said he initially thought what he heard was a tray falling.
Law enforcement officials did not immediately release the suspect’s name, although Trump posted two pictures of the man. Interim Washington Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was not shot, but was transported to a local hospital to be evaluated.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect would be charged with assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence. She said he would be arraigned on Monday in federal court and that she expected further charges, and did not rule out possible terrorism charges as the investigation develops.
“This individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could,” Pirro said. “And thankfully, because of the checkpoint right outside the ballroom where thousands of people were situated to hear the president of the United States — because that checkpoint worked, there was no one who was injured.”
Carroll said that a Secret Service officer at the scene was shot and struck in the vest. Trump said that the officer is "doing great" and that he spoke with the officer. He praised law enforcement on the scene for a quick response.
“There wasn't a lot of time to be thinking because it was a matter of seconds before we were out the door and gone into an area,” he said.
The startling disruption shattered the assumption of safety usually associated with presidential events, and particularly highly public gatherings where the time and location are widely advertised. Guests entered the ballroom through magnetometers and were meant to display printed invitations in order to reach the security checkpoint.
The scene inside the room quickly turned chaotic after the initial confusion, attendees said.
“Everyone started ducking,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who was in attendance at the event, told POLITICO.
“They did kind of a Butler, [Pennsylvania,] job on him. They shielded him and escorted him out,” Makary added, speaking of the president and referring to the 2024 shooting of the president.
The startling disruption shattered the assumption of safety usually associated with presidential events, and particularly highly public gatherings where the time and location are widely advertised. Guests entered the ballroom through magnetometers and were meant to display printed invitations in order to reach the security checkpoint.
Trump initially indicated he wanted to resume the event, but said it would soon be rescheduled.
“We very much wanted to continue it because I don't like to let these sick people, these thugs, these horrible, horrible people change the fabric of our life, change the course of what we do,” Trump said. “So we held out.”
Amalia Cepero, a bartender at the event, told POLITICO that the alleged shooter "walked calmly" up and then dropped his jacket, before firing shots.
"After he shot he looked like he just charged towards the metal detectors," Cepero said.
Carroll said it was too early in the investigation to share details about how the suspect entered the hotel with a firearm. But he revealed the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton, and said law enforcement has secured the suspect’s room.
One guest who was staying at the hotel and attended the dinner, however, said they were able to bypass security.
Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
There were a few groups of protestors outside the Washington Hilton ahead of the event, rallying against Trump’s Mideast policies and criticizing journalists for attending a gala dinner of this kind.
The event had scarcely begun when an eruption of noise near one of the ballroom entrances sent guests ducking to the floor and diving under tables. A POLITICO reporter at the dinner said they heard several loud bangs while seated at their table. They then saw Secret Service agents rush the stage to secure the president and guests were told to duck under their tables.
Secret Service agents crisscrossed the room, some with handguns drawn, seeking to locate and secure cabinet members during a long moment of uncertainty.
“Ambassador Greer! Are you okay?” one agent called, before the U.S. trade representative, Jamieson Greer, confirmed he was unharmed.
For several minutes, there was no general communication to the hundreds of people in the ballroom, leaving guests — including senior officials outside the Cabinet — uncertain as to the status of the president and the precise nature of the security threat.
Present at the dinner were not just the president and vice president, but a host of top government officials in the line of succession, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services.
At least several of those officials remained in the room well after the president’s evacuation, including Bessent, who was seated near the front of the hall and rose to exit, escorted by agents, after several minutes.
Asked if political violence was now the cost of doing business in the U.S., Trump agreed.
“It comes with the territory,” he said. “And if you want to do a great job, I really believe that. And you take a look at what's happened to some of our greatest presidents. And it doesn't happen to people that don't do anything.”
Scott Waldman, Megan Messerly and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
